Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services digitizes material identification

Tablets with GateApp replace Gate boxes

Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services (LTLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, has developed an app called Gate, which now allows components to be identified using an industrial tablet. The GateApp will gradually replace the Gate boxes used to date. Not only will this development allow portable, convenient and flexible identification of aircraft material, rather it also digitizes the process fully.

LTLS already developed a new procedure for material identification in the international repair cycle in 2014 called gate.control. This material identification procedure allowed direct shipping of parts from the customer to the closest MRO location and back again if necessary. Using a Gate box of around one cubic meter in size, the components including name plate and documents were photographed, scanned and identified at the customer's location. The GateApp is part of the digitalization strategy of LTLS.

Now the large box is being replaced by a robust industrial tablet with the preinstalled GateApp which, thanks to an ergonomic hand strap, can be held with just one hand. Each component can be photographed on all sides, the documents scanned, possible damage and packaging documented and the component data recorded with the integrated barcode scanner. The data is then sent to the Lufthansa Technik network and booked in the central service center, with forwarding then commissioned to the relevant MRO location. The tablet with GateApp is intended primarily for use in the storage and material handling areas of service partners or directly with the customer.

"The GateApp not only allows components to be recorded faultlessly, it will also speed up their identification and replenishment in case of defects," says Andreas Boehle, Project Manager GateApp at LTLS. "Thanks to the low costs and simple handling, we can roll out the portable tablet worldwide in future and further reduce turnaround times in the supply chain."